Flat folding chair

ABSTRACT

The invention is to a flat folding chair, including a seating frame and cushion fixed on a seating frame, and on front and rear supporting bars which support the two sides of the seating frame. A slide sleeve is installed on the rear supporting bar with the front supporting bar sliding through the slide sleeve to form the movable joint between the supporting bars. A stopper is installed on the front supporting bar. The slide sleeve rests upon the stopper when the folding chair is unfolded to the correct position. There is also a fixation lock installed between the stopper and the slide sleeve to automatically lock the chair when unfolded to the correct position. A clicking sound of the handle snapping into the lock hole serves as a signal to the user that the chair has been opened to the correct position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/930,730 filed Nov. 3, 2015, which application is incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention Technical Field

The present practical and modern invention falls in the technical fieldof furniture, more particularly the present invention is in thetechnical field of folding chairs.

Background Art

The current folding round chair, commonly called the “moon chair” or“satellite chair”, is constructed of soft cushioning material and bars.It is circular when viewed from the front side, but slightly tiltedtowards the front like a satellite dish. It also looks like a half-moonwhen viewed from the side, hence the name “moon chair”. It is simple instructure with a stylish outfit, and is very popular. As shown in FIG.1, its structure includes a circular frame (1) for the seat, the softcushioning material (2) installed to the frame (1), and the front andrear supporting bars (3 & 4) which support the two sides of the seatingframe (1). After the front and rear bars (3 & 4) are crossed, the upperend is connected to the seating frame (1). The rear supporting bar (4)is connected with a tubular slide sleeve (5). The front supporting bar(3) is slid through the slide sleeve (5) and forms the movable jointbetween the supporting bars (3 & 4). For this reason, current foldingchairs are equipped with a stopper (6), so that when the folding chairis unfolded fully, the slide sleeve (5) can be supported and thisstabilizes the chair after it is unfolded. The principle feature of thischair is a simple structure and a modern look. However, there is nosignal or reminder when the chair is unfolded completely. This poses ahidden danger to the usage of such chairs, as the supporting bars may beeasily damaged. Developing this new practical and modern model istherefore aimed at improving the insufficiencies of current foldinground chairs and designing a more comfortable flat folding chair.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The purpose of this implementable invention is to design a folding chairthat signals the user that the chair is unfolded completely by thecontact of the slide sleeve and a stopper, and the ability to preventaccidental (“premature” or “unintended”) folding. The secondary purposeis to add diagonal bars to the upper end of the front and rearsupporting bars, which help the supporting bar to support seating framesof different shapes.

This invention is proposed to be implemented in the following manner:The flat folding chair includes a seating frame, a cushion to be fitinto the seating frame, and front and rear supporting bars which supportthe two sides of the seating frame. The aforementioned rear supportingbars have a slide sleeve installed to permit the front supporting bar tobe slid into it, and forms the movable joint between the front and rearsupporting bars. A stopper is installed on the front supporting bar, sothat when the folding chair is unfolded to the correct position, theslide sleeve rests on the stopper. The feature is to install a lockbetween the stopper and the slide sleeve.

The aforementioned lock includes a lock hole on the one side of thestopper or the slide sleeve, and the pin of the locking handle installedon the side of the slide sleeve or the stopper facing the correspondingcomponent, with a helical torsion spring installed on the pin to fixatethe locking handle into the lock hole.

The aforementioned front and rear supporting bars have diagonal barsattached to the upper end, and the aforementioned seating frame can behinged on the diagonal bar on the two sides, which is supported by thetwo diagonal bars.

The aforementioned seating frame can be one of the following shapes:circle, ellipse, quadrilateral, triangle, pentagon, hexagon, octagon,trapezium, calabash, or bread-shape which is round at the top andrectangular at the bottom. The front part of the aforementioned seatingframe can be cut open between the two front supporting bars to make anopening. In front of the front-facing planes of the chair, a horizontalconnecting bar can be installed between two front supporting bars or tworear supporting bars.

The aforementioned cushioning material can be one of the followingstructures: a uni-body seat and backed by Oxford cloth, a flat seat andback structure woven by elastic strings, a flat seat and back structurewoven by elastic bands, or a flat seat and back structure woven byelastic strings or bands combined with Oxford cloth.

The point of contact between the aforementioned slide sleeve and rearsupporting bars has a spacer, which matches the curvature of the rearsupporting bar and makes close contact with the surface of the rearsupporting bars.

This practical new model has a lock between the stopper and slidesleeve. The folding chair is automatically locked in position when it isunfolded completely. The clicking (“audible”) sound of the handlesnapping into the lock hole serves as a signal to the user that thechair has been unfolded to the correct position. Moreover, the lock isstrategically positioned so as to avoid misshaping the folding chairwhile folding, and ensure the safety of reusing/redeploying the chair.Secondly, diagonal bars are installed on the upper end of the front andrear supporting bars, which are used to support the seating frame, thusmaking a more flexible design for the seating frame and making it easierto find the hinge of the front and rear bars. Moreover, the cushion canbe made of any of the following materials: Oxford cloth, elasticstrings, elastic bands, or a mixture of these. A uni-body seat and backwith a depression can be made for the chair, or a uni-body flat surfaceforming the seat and the back of the chair. This gives the chair a richvariety of styles.

These and other objects of the present invention will be readilyapparent upon review of the following detailed description of theinvention and the accompanying drawings. These objects of the presentinvention are not exhaustive and are not to be construed as limiting thescope of the claimed invention. Further, it must be understood that noone embodiment of the present invention need include all of theaforementioned objects of the present invention. Rather, a givenembodiment may include one or none of the aforementioned objects.Accordingly, these objects are not to be used to limit the scope of theclaims of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of current folding round chair.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the supporting framework of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the supporting framework of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a top view illustrating the relationship between the front andrear supporting bars and the diagonal bars of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the breakdown of the lock in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a triangular seating frame for theinvention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an ellipse seating frame with an openingat the bottom for the invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a calabash-shaped seating frame for theinvention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a bread-shaped seating frame for theinvention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a quadrilateral seating frame for theinvention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a trapezium seating frame for theinvention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a pentagonal seating frame for theinvention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a hexagonal seating frame for theinvention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an octagonal seating frame for theinvention.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of woven cushioning material for theinvention.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of woven cushioning material 2 for theinvention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of woven cushioning material 3 for theinvention.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of woven cushioning material 4 for theinvention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring to FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, the flat folding chair includes theseating frame (1), cushioning material (2), front and rear supportingbars (3 & 4), slide sleeve (5), stopper (6) and lock handle (7). Thecushioning material is fixated on the seating frame (1), which forms theuni-body seat and back. The two sides of the seating frame (1) aresupported by the front and rear supporting bars (3 & 4), with the slidesleeve (5) screwed to the supporting bar (4) and the front supportingbar (3) sliding through the slide sleeve (5) to form the movable jointbetween the front and rear supporting bars (3 & 4). The stopper (6) isfixed in front of the front supporting bar. When the folding chair isunfolded to the correct position, the slide sleeve (5) rests on thestopper (6), which limits the space and supports the weight loaded onthe chair. A fixation lock is installed in between the stopper (6) andthe slide sleeve (5), which includes the lock handle (7), lock hole(51), pin (71) and helical torsion spring (72). In this implementation,the handle (7) is fixed on one side of the stopper (6) through the pin(71), and a lock hole (51) on the slide sleeve (5), with the helicaltorsion spring (72) installed on the pin (71) to keep the handle (7)locked into the lock hole (51). Once the folding chair is unfolded tothe correct position, the handle (7) automatically snaps into the lockhole (51) and fixes the chair in place. The clicking sound of the handlesnapping into the lock hole also serves as a signal that the chair issuccessfully unfolded to the correct position. Moreover, the foldingchair cannot be folded back nor fall into a half-folded (“undeployed”)orientation if the handle (7) is not unhinged even if the user attemptsto fold it. This ensures the safety during repeated usage.

If the handle (7) is installed on the stopper (6), the operation offolding and unfolding becomes smoother and more handy.

Referring to FIG. 4, each pair of the front and rear supporting bars (3& 4) are hinged to a diagonal bar (8). The seating frame (1) is screwedat the two sides to the diagonal bars (8). The seating frame (1) issupported by the two diagonal bars (8). The benefit of such design isthat the same set of front and rear supporting bars (3 & 4) and thediagonal bars (8) can be attached to the seating frame (1) in differentdesigns, which gives a much greater convenience in attaching the seatingframe.

Referring to FIG. 5, a spacer (9) is installed between the slide sleeve(5) and the rear supporting bar (4). The spacer has a curvature (91)which matches the rear supporting bar (4) and stays in close contactwith it. This protects the surface of the bar, and lubricates the slidesleeve (5) to ensure a smoother rotation of the slide sleeve (5).

Further Implementation

Referring to FIG. 6, in the illustration, the handle (7) is fixed on theslide sleeve (5) by the pin (71), and a lock hole (51) on the stopper(6), with the helical torsion spring (72) installed on the pin (71) tokeep the handle (7) locked into the lock hole (51) on the stopper (6).In this structure, opening the handle (7) requires the hand to slidewith the slide sleeve (5) for a small distance to make the operation offolding the chair smooth.

Summing up the two implementations above, the handle (7) can beinstalled on the side of either the stopper (6) or the slide sleeve (5).In both cases this can provide fixation and a clicking sound as asignal. Fixing the handle on the stopper (6) is more preferred, becausethe operable part of handle (7) faces the front and is comfortablywithin hand's reach for the operation of the handle (7). In theunfolding process, the position of the handle (7) also synchronizes withthat of the front supporting bar (3). Moreover, attaching the diagonalbars (8) to the upper end of the front and rear supporting bars (3 & 4)and supporting the seating frame (1) by the diagonal bars (8) makes itpossible for the seating frame (1) to take different shapes. Besidesmaking hinging easier, it also provides a more stable support for theseating frame (1).

For this reason, the accompanying seating frame (1) can be any of thefollowing structures, or any variety of them, such as: circle, triangle,ellipse, calabash, bread-shape which is round at the top and rectangularat the bottom, quadrilateral, trapezium, pentagon, hexagon or octagon.The seating frame (1) can be either a closed structure or an openstructure. As in FIG. 7, the seating frame (1) is cut and is openbetween the two front supporting bars. A horizontal connecting bar (81)is installed on the two front supporting bars (3) or the two rearsupporting bars (4) in front of to the front-facing planes of thefolding chair to enhance the strength of the front part of the chair.Cutting open the front of the seating frame (1) can prevent the frontpart of the seating frame (1) from pressing into the legs, while keepingthe whole layout coherent and stylish.

Below is the detailed description of the different shapes of the seatingframe (1):

Referring to FIG. 2, the seating frame (1) is a circle, which is thebasic shape allowing the simplest processing. Besides this basic model,it can be transformed into the following shapes.

Referring to FIG. 6, the seating frame (1) is a triangle. It savesmaterial and is also aesthetically pleasing.

Referring to FIG. 7, the seating frame (1) is an open ellipse. Anellipse is a similar to a circle, therefore it shares a similar outfitwith the circle. The front is cut open, and in this figure thehorizontal connecting bar (81) is fixed to the front-facing plane andin-between the two rear supporting bars (4).

Referring to FIG. 8, the seating frame (1) is in a calabash shape, andsimilarly it can be shaped into pear shape as well.

Referring to FIG. 9, the seating frame (1) is in a bread shape, which isround at the top and rectangular at the bottom.

Referring to FIG. 10, the seating frame (1) is quadrilateral. It can berectangular as in the figure, or square.

Referring to FIG. 11, the seating frame (1) is in a trapezium shape.This is based on a quadrilateral but with a narrowed top, which is givesit variety.

Referring to FIG. 12, the seating frame (1) is a pentagon, which lookslike a diamond, a unique design.

Referring to FIG. 13, the seating frame (1) is in hexagonal shape. Thehexagon in the figure is not symmetrical vertically. Compressing thebottom part makes it more aesthetically pleasing, but it can be, withouta doubt, made into a regular hexagon.

Referring to FIG. 14, the seating frame (1) is in an octagonal shape.This means the seating frame (1) can vary from triangle to variouspolygons, allowing flexible designs which fulfils various needs and anypractical and aesthetic requirements.

Basing on the aforementioned different designs of the seating frame,different cushioning materials (2) can be chosen to fit in the seatingframe accordingly and create a rich variety of layouts. Below are someimplementations of the cushioning material (2):

Referring to FIG. 1, the cushioning material (2) is made into a uni-bodyseat and back by Oxford cloth, which is also the most common structure.

Referring to FIG. 15, it is a cushioning woven purely by elastic strings(21). The woven pattern can be a sunflower as in the figure, or an arrayof rhombuses or quadrilaterals.

Referring to FIG. 16, the cushioning of the seat and back is formed by amixture of elastic string (21) and Oxford cloth. The seat (20) is formedby the Oxford cloth which prevents the elastic strings from cutting intothe user. The elastic strings (21) form the back, and can be woven intoa rhombus pattern as in the figure, or in radial pattern.

Referring to FIG. 17, it is another implementation of the seat and backparts formed by the mixture of the elastic strings (21) and Oxfordcloth. The elastic strings (21) are in radial pattern.

Referring to FIG. 18, it is the seat and back formed by the mixture ofelastic bands (22) and Oxford cloth. The seat is formed by Oxford cloth(20), and the elastic bands (22) are woven into a radial pattern, inbetween the seat and the upper edge of the back.

The seat and back formed by the elastic strings, elastic bands, or theircombination with Oxford cloth, are all flat when unused. When a personis seated on it, the weight causes the elastic strings (21) and elasticbands (22) to conform to the bottom and the back of the user. Theaforementioned cushioning material (2) is suitable with any shape asshown in the FIG. 2 and FIG. 6 to FIG. 14. The listed examples arecommon seating frame shapes, and do not necessarily restrict thedescription of this patent.

While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, itis understood that it is capable of further modifications, uses and/oradaptations of the invention following in general the principle of theinvention and including such departures from the present disclosure ascome within the known or customary practice in the art to which theinvention pertains and as maybe applied to the central featureshereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention andthe limits of the appended claims. It is therefore to be understood thatthe present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment describedabove, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:
 1. A kind of flat folding chair, including a seating frame,cushioning that is fixed on the seating frame, and front and rearsupporting bars which support the two sides of the seating frame; theaforementioned rear supporting bars have a slide sleeve installed withthe front supporting bar slid through the slide sleeve, forming themovable joint between the front and rear supporting bars. A stopper isinstalled on the front supporting bar. When the folding chair isunfolded to the correct position, the slide sleeve rests upon thestopper. The feature of this invention is the fixation lock installedbetween the stopper and the slide sleeve.
 2. Referring to patent claim1, the feature of this flat folding chair, is the fixation lock whichincludes a lock hole on one side of the stopper or slide sleeve, thehandle fixed on one side of the slide sleeve or stopper by a pin, andthe helical torsion spring installed on the pin. The helical torsionspring keeps the handle locked into the lock hole.
 3. Referring topatent claim 1, the feature of this flat folding chair is the diagonalbars installed at the upper end of the front and rear supporting bars.The aforementioned seating frame is screwed to the diagonal bars on twosides, and is supported by the two diagonal bars.
 4. Referring to patentclaim 1, the feature of the aforementioned flat folding chair is thatthe shape of the seating frame can be chosen from the following: circle,ellipse, quadrilateral, triangle, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, trapezium,calabash, or bread-shape which is round at the top and rectangular atthe bottom. The seating frame is a closed structure.
 5. Referring topatent claim 1, the feature of the aforementioned flat folding chair isthat the shape of the seating frame can be chosen from the followings:circle, ellipse, quadrilateral, triangle, pentagon, hexagon, octagon,trapezium, calabash, or bread-shape which is round at the top andrectangular at the bottom. The aforementioned seating frame can be cutopen in the front in between the two front supporting bars to make anopening. A horizontal connecting bar can be installed between the twofront supporting bars or the two rear supporting bars in thefront-facing planes of the chair.
 6. Referring to patent claim 1, thefeature of the aforementioned flat folding chair is that the cushioningmaterial can be one of the following choices: a uni-body seat and backby Oxford cloth, a flat seat and back structure woven by elasticstrings, a flat seat and back structure woven from elastic bands, or aflat seat and back structure composed of elastic strings or elasticbands combined with Oxford cloth.
 7. Referring to patent claim 1, thefeature of the aforementioned flat folding chair is that there is aspacer in between the contact surface of the slide sleeve and the rearsupporting bar. The spacer has a curvature that matches the rearsupporting bar, which enables the spacer to remain in close contact withthe surface of the rear supporting bar.